Commissioners approve up to $76 million in financing for Liberty Science Center High School

The Hudson County Board of County Commissioners voted on Nov. 25 to authorize a lease and development agreement with the Hudson County Improvement Authority that allows financing of a Liberty Science Center High School project with an estimated cost not to exceed $76,000,000.

The ordinance authorizes the issuance of county-secured lease revenue bonds to fund the project and includes a lease agreement with the Hudson County Schools of Technology. A school representative, Alicia Abraham, told the board the school is expected to accommodate about 400 students.

Commissioners asked about project financing and in discussion noted that the city of Jersey City has donated land valued in the commissioners' estimate at roughly $15,000,000, which one commissioner said represents a substantial portion of the project's value. "When you include land into the cost of this project, which I estimated about 15,000,000... that's 27.5 percent of the total cost of the project," a commissioner said on the record.

The ordinance was adopted by roll call. Implementation will proceed through the Hudson County Improvement Authority and the Hudson County Schools of Technology; the board did not set additional project-level details in the meeting and asked for coordination with school officials during the implementation phase.

Next steps include standard development and bond issuance processes handled by the Improvement Authority and subsequent reporting to the county regarding project timeline and financing details.